This application is further related to U.S. patent application No. 07/682,881 a continuation-in-part of the former application filed Apr. 8, 1991.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a toy for small animals (hamsters, gerbils, mice or other small animals), and more particularly to an animal-operated and automatically resetting elevator in transparent plastic with one-way passage means to encourage the proper use of the elevator.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The observation of small animal behavior inevitably leads to the conclusion that there is considerable potential for entertainment, limited only by the pet toys available, for these animals are game for almost anything they can learn or "fall into." Patience is essential with complex toys, but the payoff is bigger.
What led to the conception of the elevator was a desire to provide the small animal with a toy that does something to him when he isn't doing anything to it--an unexpected but stimulating, enjoyable, and ultimately controllable movement. Not just exercise, but entertainment--like having a car instead of a bicycle.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,291,488, Orenstein's elevator is operated by a toy "animal" moving a lever and releasing the elevator car; however, the elevator must be reset manually.
Several other patented toy elevators operate on means other than passenger control and gravity. In Hool U.S. Pat. No. 4,359,837, an external operator is required to raise the elevator using a cord. In Stubbman U.S. Pat. No. 3,849,930, the elevator is fully dependent upon manual manipulation. A more sophisticated elevator is disclosed in Saito U.S. Pat. No. 4,109,410, showing a manually switched-on battery-operated fan for lifting the elevator on a column of air. Spengler U.S. Pat. No. 3,789,538 discloses an elevator with endless drive means and a bi-directional hand crank. In Einfalt U.S. Pat. No. 3,593,454, the elevator is externally operated using a crank lever with a clockwork or motor-driven coiled spring. None of the above could be operated solely by an animal and automatically reset. DeSousa, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,027,626, discloses an elevator which is both animal-operated and animal reset. A counterbalance retains a compartment in a raised position, whereupon the entry of a small animal overcomes the weight of the counterbalance and causes the car to descend. When the animal exits, the car returns to the raised position. In practice, this device presents some problems, particularly the safety of the animal. Since the counterbalance acts as a retaining means to hold the car in a raised position, there is no means for releasing tension in the system. The weight of the animal merely overcomes the weight of the countrebalance, and therefore, when the animal exits the car, shearing action is produced which could harm the animal and possibly catch his tail. If the counterbalance is so light that shearing action is not a problem, then the small animal would descend too quickly to please the animal or entertain the viewer as he should, the event being very short-lived. The present invention overcomes these problems with a pair of counterbalanced cars and additional control means to optimize the comfort of the small animal and the entertainment of the viewer.
Counterbalanced elevators and dumbwaiters are well known, e.g., Seeberger U.S. Pat. No. 1,231,075. However, the counterbalance itself is usually a compact weight and not a second compartment. Moreover, the sophisticated controls do not lend themselves to animal operation.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,908,498, Becraft employs a counterbalanced double-seated device as a child's playroom ride, but the operation of the ride is largely non-analogous to the present invention. The playroom ride is intended for use by two passengers rather than one, both simultaneously and continuously. Normally, the elevator is used by one small animal which enters, is transported, and then exits. In the playroom ride, not only does gravity act on the passengers' weight, but each passenger must exert leg pressure to complete a cycle. In contrast, one animal operates the elevator, with gravity alone acting on its weight, and this same force resets the elevator. In addition, the playroom ride is probably entered and exited simultaneously with each seat in mid-position, so an automatic half-cycle reset whereby an empty elevator car is located in the "up" or ready position when an animal has completed his elevator transport is a different problem involving a different principle of operation. Finally, the shearing action upon leaving the child's ride is managed by the passengers rather than being inherently solved by the automatic resetting of the invention in a fixed position.
It is submitted that the application of an elevator for use in a toy for small animals promises to be more entertaining to a young or not-so-young person than something which must be manipulated by hand because of the displacement of control onto the animal and the unpredictable behavior of the animal.
Moreover, the toy is designed to operate safely, and the mechanical parts involved, i.e. ball chain, springs, magnets, and pulleys are minimal in number and may be standard parts, which serves to keep the cost down.
A tube, ladder, or other compatible device may be used to get the animal to the top of the elevator, although a more novel approach uses a related invention which is disclosed in U.S. patent application No. 07/682,881, filed Apr. 8, 1991. This staircase toy provides both an interesting approach to the elevator in the form of a spiral, switchback, or other regular arrangement of living compartments connected by apertures at incremental elevations. More particularly, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the living compartments or stations are large enough to comfortably support a small animal and are arranged in an alternating or rotational sequence, with apertures connecting each one to the next in turn, and with the sequence also arranged in staircase-like fashion, being offset horizontally and offset vertically in incremental and progressive steps, the increments generally being less than the height of a station, and progressive being successively higher. The entire structure is easily disassembled for cleaning.
Cover flaps on some of the apertures of the elevator add yet another form of amusement and challenge. They also serve to guide the animal through an aperture in the preferred direction. Doors which allow larger pets to enter and leave an owner's home are well known.
Currently-known toys for small animals include the exercise wheel and interconnecting plastic tubes. While the wheel provides the animal with much-needed exercise, it offers little entertainment to the human observer. The tubes can become expensive quickly, take up considerable space, and may accidentally disconnect. The present invention provides a new experience for the animal and more entertainment for the human observer.
The inventor holds a firm belief that some cages are too small for even one animal, and that any toy learned in 30 seconds isn't enough of a challenge to the animal. It is hoped that the availability of a quality toy will result in the purchase of a larger cage, or even in the decision to purchase a pet in the first place.